TO PICK IN STORE, OR NOT TO PICK IN STORE

A strange thing happened to Internet-based food shopping on its way to profitability, or at least to survival. The long-touted strategy of using dedicated distribution centers for order fulfillment seems to be fading in favor of using active retail stores for fulfillment.The change in sourcing strategy reverses fulfillment back to where it started. First-mover Peapod started down its long road by

A strange thing happened to Internet-based food shopping on its way to profitability, or at least to survival. The long-touted strategy of using dedicated distribution centers for order fulfillment seems to be fading in favor of using active retail stores for fulfillment.

The change in sourcing strategy reverses fulfillment back to where it started. First-mover Peapod started down its long road by sourcing product from stores in Chicago, but as time went on the wisdom grew that to pic